Analysis “Art for Heart’s Sake”

The analysis. “Art for heart’s sake”. The Art for Heart’s sake was written by Reuben Lucius Goldberg (1883-1970). He was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor, was born in San Francisco. Goldberg is best known for a series of popular cartoons he created depicting complex devices that perform simple tasks in indirect way. Rube Goldberg began practicing his art skills at the age of four when he traced illustrations from the humorous book “History of the United States”. Among his best works are “Is There a Doctor in the House?” (1929), “Rube Goldberg’s Guide to Europe” (1954) and “I made My Bed” (1960).
The first character who was introduced to the reader was the male nurse Koppel. He was the helper of doctor Caswell to treat the old man. The author described how hard it was. He used gradation to reveal the male nurse’s despair (He won’t take his pineapple juice. He doesn’t want me to read to him. He hates the radio. He doesn’t like anything!). Koppel couldn’t do a thing with the old man. The nurse even tried to prevent him from exhibiting the Trees Dressed in White as the old man could become a laughing-stock. Anxious and uneasy Koppel sets off calm and gentle Doctor Caswell. He is a professional and thinks a lot about his patients (He had done some constructive thinking since his last visit. Making proposition to the old man he took his stethoscope ready in case the abruptness of the suggestion proved too much for the patient’s heart. In spite of rude and vigorous Ellsworth’s answers like Rot and Bosh Caswell managed to persuade him to take up art with his professional calm). He understood Ellsworth was no ordinary case. The doctor preferred not to interfere when Ellsworth decided to exhibit his painting at the gallery. Doctor Caswell was the only man who managed with a supreme effort to congratulate the old man on the First Prize while Swain and Koppel uttered a series of inarticulate gurgles. One mistake the doctor made is he thought it safe to allow Ellsworth to visit museums and galleries. The next character is Frank Swain. He is 18 years-old promising student. Like Caswell, Swain was also patient. The author used such a simile (there was a drawing on the table which had a slight resemblance to the vase) to outline the Swain’s reaction (Not bad, sir. It’s a bit lopsided). Swain is professional too. As his visits grew more frequent he brought a box of water-colors and some tubes of oils. He was not indifferent to Ellsworth and worried about the picture Trees Dressed in White. He was forced to sneak into the Gallery and see the picture with his own eyes. The most inconsistent character is Collis P.Ellsworth. He behaved like a child with the nurse. The author used many slang words (rot, bosh, by gum, poppycock) to display the old man’s attitude to Koppel, Swain and Doctor, to emphasize such traits of his character as arrogance, confidence, whimsicality. The old man is rude, scornful but also clever and cunning. The author emphasizes the old man behaves like a child (he replied Nope on the male nurse suggestion many times. He colored the open spaces blue like a child playing with a picture book. He proudly displayed the variegated smears of paint on his heavy silk dressing gown. He requested someone to read his envelope because his eyes were tired from painting. It was done specially to archive strong effect). When the old man’s diagnosis was described the author used zeugma for the irony (All his purchases of recent years had to be liquidated at a great sacrifice both to his health and his pocketbook).Originally the old man was not sure whether to take up art. He looked appraisingly at Swain and drew the scrawls expecting the Swain’s criticism (the wrinkles deepened at the corners of the old man’s eyes as he asked elfishly what he thought of it). In some time he asked Swain to come three times a week. It tells about his progress in painting. The author used synecdoche (I want to ask you something before old pineapple juice comes back). It reveals the old man’s attitude to the male nurse. Asyndeton is used in the old man’s question: “I was thinking could you spare the time to come twice a week or perhaps three times?” Ellsworth displayed his insatiable curiosity about the galleries but in fact being a person who couldn’t help buying anything he formed an artful plan in his brain. Ellsworth organized everything beforehand. The fact that Koppel, Swain and the doctor were in the room when the envelope was brought was not a chance. He anticipated this result (He was unusually cheerful during the exhibition). He proved them that art is nothing and everything can be bought for money. All treatment and the good work, that the doctor has accomplished, were spoilt. Ellsworth managed to wind everybody round his finger.
The idea of this text is that the author would like us to show the conflict between rich and poor. The text has a simple plot. In the exposition the action centers on Collis P. Ellsworth, an old gentleman whose obsession idea is buying unnecessary things. In this part the author uses repetitions and anaphora (“He won’t take…He doesn’t want…He hates…He doesn’t like”). The development is presented in the chain of events: doctor Caswell suggests him taking up art and he invites a student Frank Swain to teach him. The old man wants to exhibit his picture “Trees Dressed in White” in a famous gallery. Here oxymoron is used (Upon this distinguished group Ellsworth was going to foist his Trees Dressed in White). The climax is reached when the picture is accepted for the Lathrop show. The author used epithets (a god-awful smudge; a loud, raucous splash on the wall) and simile (which resembled a gob of salad dressing thrown violently up against the side of a house) to give a real appraisal of the painting and show the absurd accepting this picture to the gallery. The author used epithet (a lifetime dream of every mature artist was a Lathrop prize) and inversion (upon this distinguished group Ellsworth was going to foist his painting) to emphasize the importance of this exhibition, its scale and prestigious. The tension is still kept when we learn that this picture wins the first prize. Then, in the denouement we learn that the old man had bought this gallery.
At the end, I would like to note, that this story seems to me very funny and quite relevant to the modern world.

The analysis of the picture.
Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin «Copper tank for water».

Jean-Baptiste Simeon Chardin (1699-1779). Chardin wrote still lifes throughout his life. I would like to describe one of the most unusual of his paintings «Copper tank for water».
Chardin chose for a still life trivial things: copper tank for water, bucket with a long comfortable handle, dark earthenware bottle, filled with water bucket. Still life is subjected to the law typing: every object tells about the life of man, about his day-to-day affairs. These things are needed to a man every day; they are durable, spacious, and comfortable. The artist used a horizontal format. In the center of the picture there is a tank for water, the end of it goes beyond the picture plane, and there is little space left in the bottom of the picture so objects in the foreground almost touch the edge of the work. There is a lot of space to the right and left that is free from objects of places, but it is balanced with areas of shadow to the left and right on the wall. The composition of still life fits into the triangle, its centre is a valve on the tank. It is slightly shifted to the left of the composition center. The contrast of the valve and the tank is underlined with a flare that is the brightest place in a still-life, the very same tank gently discharged from the background. The darkest part is a pitcher in the foreground. The task of the volume of objects at the expense of smooth tonal transitions from light to shadow. You can guess about the volume of the jar only by the reflection on its surface. All items, except the pitcher written almost in the same color. All the work is driven to a single color palette, painted in warm tones.